Stadium backers huddled inside a crowded tent Tuesday next to the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis to break ground on the long-anticipated $975 million Vikings stadium. Excavation for the new 1.7 million-square-foot project started in earnest this week and is expected to wrap up in April.

Digging in at the Vikings stadium

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and other stadium supporters took a few ceremonial digs into a pile of dirt on the stadium parking lot Tuesday. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)

One of the first things visitors to the Metrodome’s east parking lot will notice in the coming weeks is the dirt — lots of dirt.

During Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the $975 million Vikings stadium project in Minneapolis, Gov. Mark Dayton, team owner Zygi Wolf and other stadium supporters took a few digs into a small pile of dirt on the stadium parking lot.

In the background, the real digging was well underway. Excavating machines from Burnsville-based Ames Construction have already torn into the asphalt, digging up copious loads of soil in preparation for the new stadium.

“It’s a lot of dirt,” said Dave Mansell, general superintendent for Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction, the project’s construction manager. “It’s the biggest dirt job I have ever been on.”

Excavation for the new 1.7 million-square-foot stadium started in earnest this week and is expected to wrap up in April. The three-month job of taking down the Metrodome will begin in January, as will concrete pours. Drilled pier work will start around the holidays.

Crews will move about 850,000 cubic yards of dirt for the project, according to Mansell. By comparison, he said, a typical basement yields about 20 cubic yards, which means the stadium project is coughing up enough dirt to fill the ground under 42,500 houses.

Trucks are hauling off the dirt at night to minimize traffic disruptions, Mansell said. On Monday night alone, 10,000 yards of dirt were trucked away.

“It’s a very aggressive dirt schedule,” Mansell said. “But we are going to get it done.”

Ron Ames, a senior vice president for Ames Construction, is no stranger to massive stadium dirt-moving projects in downtown Minneapolis. He remembers the precise date his company started to dig the hole for the Metrodome: Dec. 17, 1979.

“That was 600,000 cubic yards. I was a lot younger then,” he said with a laugh.

Now, working with Little Canada-based Frattalone Cos., Ames will be charged with tearing down the Metrodome. Between the excavation and demolition work, the job will put about 140 of his employees to work on site, he said.

Roughly 85 trucks will haul dirt off the site “night and day,” he said. If weather permits, crews will work six days a week.

Ames said his company has been working with Mortenson for about two months on drawings and details. The $36 million excavation contract was finalized a couple of weeks ago.

Other large subcontracts will be awarded soon, including mechanical and electrical work packages, both of which are in the $80 million range, according to John Wood, senior vice president with Mortenson Construction.

Mortenson will self-perform concrete work, but “multiple subcontractors” will be involved in that effort, Wood said.

“All of those contracts we expect to let probably within the next 30 days,” Wood said. “We will be announcing those firms very soon.”

The project will use 18,812 tons of structural steel, 101,185 cubic yards of poured concrete and 102,486 linear feet of precast concrete stadia to support the seats, according to the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority.

Five tower cranes, ranging in size from 225 feet to 310 feet, will be on the job, and 434,029 square feet of metal panels will be installed on the building’s exterior, the authority noted. The largest steel beam will weigh 47,819 pounds.

More than 1,127 workers will be on site at the peak of the project, which will consume about 4.5 million total work hours during that time. If diversity goals are met, women and minorities will represent 38 percent of the work force.

On Tuesday morning, stadium backers touted the project as a job creator and an economic development driver.

The ground breaking was a triumphant moment for supporters of a project that has survived numerous obstacles, including legal troubles involving the team’s owners, a hoped-for funding source that fell way short of expectations, higher than expected hard-construction costs, and strong opposition from foes of publicly funded pro sports stadiums.

Funding sources include the Vikings ($477 million), the state ($348 million) and the city of Minneapolis ($150 million).

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf beamed as he addressed the gathering, which included the likes of former Vikings coach Bud Grant, star running back Adrian Peterson, construction team members, and fans adorned in purple and gold.

“What a day,” Wilf said. “Since we became owners, it was always our intent to first bring a championship and build a new stadium. Well, we are embarking on both, and today is a great day for all the people of Minnesota and all of our fans across the country.”

See below for a slideshow of the Vikings stadium groundbreaking by F&C staff photographer Bill Klotz:

One comment

These projects with taxpayer subsidies and financing do not lead to economic development. The net results are always a negative. How many hundreds of legitimate economic studies (that back this up) have to be done for you to report on them.